Management Association What is certification? 2 Individual professionals can be certified at three levels, depending on experience and training. Manufacturers and retailers can certify their internal corporate training programs. Training firms, solution providers, and universities can certify their learning programs. A CERTIFIED learning or training program means that the designated program officially fulfills a requirement towards individual professional certification. INDIVIDUAL Certification from the Association Objective, third-party designation Based on a minimum agreed-upon training standard Quantifies the skill level of individual category management professionals Ensures the standard has been met or exceeded

Our 2 Step Approach: It Started with a Steering Committee Lead with experience Ensure diversity, remove bias Create role & skills framework Establish certification process 3

4 Skills

Leverage cat man and educator expertise Define levels of competency Create framework to evaluate training 5 Our 2 Step Approach: The Certification Sub-Committee

Develop A Common Language 6 The most discrete element of a curriculum often focused on a single category management skill A Course A single course or a collection of courses that impart proficiency for a specific category management competency Learning Programs A matrix that identifies standards for measuring competency performance at specific experience levels for category management professionals Learning Scorecard

3 Certification Levels 7 8 Required Learning Programs 15 Required Learning Programs 10 Required Learning Programs

Certification Simplistic approach 3 levels required fundamentals plus recommended skills Adaptable flexible for companies, big and small will improve over time 8

Category Management Standards INDIVIDUAL Certification: Quantifies the skill level of individual category management professionals Ensures the standard has been met or exceeded COURSEWORK Certification: Designated course officially fulfills a requirement towards individual professional certification.

Show Copy of Category Management Professional Standards Document

Certification Process For Individuals Covers a 3 Year Period

Individuals 12

Individuals 3 Years Record Retention CMA Certification Board Certifies Individual & Posts Records 13

Costs for an Individual’s Certification Initial costs $800 o $500 individual’s initial personal evaluation fee o $300 Covers 3 years certification updates and data maintenance Renewal costs o Renewal for an individual’s certification is $300 o Covers an additional 3 years, including: New training programs completed Maintaining certification records Updating certification level 14

Certification Process For Companies Covers a 3 Year Period

Training Programs 16 Certification Order Form Manufacturers Training Companies Training Course Translation & Evaluation Certification Board

Costs For Learning Program Certification Initial costs o One Time Certification Evaluation fee is $8,000, covers organization and translation of course content to Learning Program format and cost estimate o Learning program certifications: Pre-certified ”off-the-shelf” learning program ($200 each) Customized pre-certified ”off-the-shelf” learning program ($2,400 each) Customized, internal proprietary learning program ($4,000 each) Renewal costs o The cost for renewing certification are as follows: Recertification for a comprehensive company training program will be $1000. (In addition there will be a $ charge to review and re-record each previously certified learning program) For all new learning programs certified the cost per learning program will be as above 17

Participating Training Providers CMKG Learning Evolution Nielsen ROI SymphonyIRI The Partnering Group Win Weber Associates 18

Benefits to Certification Commitment to employee professionalism Road map to category management success Industry leadership Competitive advantage with trade

Partial Certification Client List

Category Management Association, Central time USA Donna Frazier, President and Managing Director, Blaine Ross, Executive Vice President Global Sales & Marketing, Kevin Costello, Vice President, Business Development, Diane Milanese, Member Resources Director, Anne Kay, Member Networking Director, For more information on member benefits and options, visit or To learn more about individual or company certification, 21